Acting in the interest of your child(ren)
A divorce does not only have a big impact on your life and your partners’ life, but also on that of your child(ren). A consequence of a divorce is that your partner becomes your ex-partner. However, this does not mean that your ex-partner also becomes an ex-parent. Cooperating with your ex-partner during and after the divorce can take a lot of effort. Nevertheless, cooperating parents are of great importance for the wellbeing of a child. No contact or declined contact between a child and one of its parents can have serious negative consequences for a child. It is important to take your children’s interests into account during and after the divorce procedure, no matter how young or old your children are.
Minor children: parenting plan
Do you have minor children? If the answer is yes, you are obliged to draw up a parenting plan.
Reaching sustainable agreements with regard to the division of tasks and the contact moments with the children is sometimes difficult. We will help you and your partner to reach agreements and we will draw up an extensive parenting plan.
The following aspects need to be included in a parenting plan:
– a division of all care and education tasks, inclusive contact arrangements;
– agreements with regard to the way in which you both inform each other about the children;
– the height and period of child alimony that you or your partner will need to pay for the upbringing of your child(ren);
– agreements with regard to special costs, for example camping weekends of a sports club.
Besides the obliged aspects, it is smart to lay down agreements with regard to subjects that you and your partner both find important, examples are:
– agreements with regard to school choices, medical treatments, bank savings accounts and body art;
– rules, for example bedtimes or ways of punishment;
– contact with family, such as grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and aunts.
Child alimony
You and your partner will need to make sure that there will be enough money for the upbringing of your child(ren). The partner who earns the highest income will often need to pay child alimony to the other partner. The height of the alimony amount per child is depends on two factors:
– the need of the child(ren);
– the bearing strength of both parents.
A parent is obliged to financially support the child until it has reached the age of 21 years. Until a child is 18 years old, the child alimony will be paid to the receiving parent. After that, the child has the right to receive his or her own child alimony. Payment of the child alimony to the other parent is still possible, but only if the child gives permission.
Child(ren) above 18 years old
If your children are older than 18 years old, you and your partner are not obliged to draw up a parenting plan. However, if your children are between 18 and 25 years old, there will need to be made agreements with regard to certain costs, such as costs for studying and costs for living expenses. Living expenses are the costs for maintenance and upbringing.
